Ramadan 22, 1435/2014 Tafseer, by Imam Muhammed Shoayb Mehtar, Khadeeja Islamic Center, SLC, Utah

Nightly Notes (22)*:

Tonight we read Surah Mulk, this is a Surah that Rasulullah (SAW) wished that every member of his Ummah knew by heart. We should read this Surah at night after Isha. The benefit is that it eases the punishment in the grave. There is a cleansing that happens in the grave called Tatheer. This is where the body is crushed by the earth. For those that do good deeds in this world they will have a very minimal crushing. Those that do bad deeds, those that are adamant on Kufr, they will scream and scream and scream from the pain the soul feels in the grave. Not only that, but an angel will pound them with a hammer that can be equivalent to the weight of Mt. Uhud… which one of us wants to feel this in our graves?

Many people tell problems but people want to know solutions. Allah gives us the solution to the problem mentioned in this Surah. What is the problem?  The punishment in the grave. What is the solution?   Reciting and memorizing Surah Mulk. Surely we can memorize 30 ayahs? Perhaps one ayah each day in a single month? If not for our sake then at least to fulfill the wish that our beloved Nabi (SAW) had for every individual in his Ummah… and this benefits us in Barzakh (the period in the grave before the Day of Judgment).

There is one ayah in this Surah where it is mentioned that Allah first, created death, and from death, He created life. So don’t we have it backwards? Shouldn’t birthdays be called ‘deathdays’? We were nothing and then from Day 1 Allah placed life into us. Why did Allah create life? For one reason and one purpose only: to test us, and not only that, but to see which of us will do the best of good deeds.

In Surah Qalam, there is a story about a father who was extremely generous in that he would dedicate a certain amount of his crops to the poor. He would give, and give, and give, so much so that his sons were agitated by this and wanted the wealth sharing of their father to come to an end. We should let our parents give, especially if they are paying for you (rent, education, food, clothing, shelter, etc.), we should be appreciative for what they do. These boys wanted nothing to go to the poor. Everyone works hard in the world. If you travel like Allah says to do in the Qur’an you will see people who work so hard that not even donkeys work the way they do. Some people work hard and die poor. Others hardly work at all and die rich. Why does Allah mention this story? The boys went to go hide the wealth and when they reached where the wealth (crops) was, it was destroyed… not just that but the earth became blackened. They understood their error and said to Allah, “We were wrong”. Allah subsequently forgave them. Isn’t it time, in this blessed month of Ramadan, in these blessed last 10 nights, wherein lies Laylatul Qadr, a night that is equivalent to 1,000 months (~83 years and 4 months… a lifetime of doing good deeds continuously without any break!) that we should acknowledge our wrong to Allah so that He may forgive us?

How can we do this? By changing our environment and by uprooting the wrong out of our lives.

In Surah Insaan, Allah mentions how He created us from 2 things, 2 liquids mixed in an impure state, so much so, that our parents had to take a shower after. We were created from the lowest of low. Now look at us, we walk around on this earth with arrogance like we own the place. We have forgotten our humble beginnings so much so that we can’t even come inside the masjid and bring the 2 clots that brought us into this world. Allah took us so high up from where we started (dirt or even lower). He gave us the ability to see, to hear, to dialog, to think, to come to the masjid, to read the Qur’an… just how many blessings has Allah given us? Can we even begin to count?

Allah made us powerful compared to majority of His creations; He made us powerful especially compared to our forgotten humble beginnings. He has given us 2 pathways and it is up to us to decide which one will we tread upon. Which one will we go to? The Halal pathway of good deeds where the end destination is meeting Allah in Jannah? Or the Haraam pathways of bad deeds where the end destination is joining Shaytan in Jahannam?

Make Allah proud, make Rasulullah (SAW) proud of us, make our parents proud, make our community proud, make our families proud, etc. and help us choose (willingly and wholeheartedly) the pathway of good, the pathway of Jannah and the pathway that ultimately leads to Allah.

May Allah (SWT) help us and guide us at all times.

*Nightly Notes provided by note-takers in the masjid, as heard during tafseer.